As the year begins to wind down, the Frankfurt motor show provides one of the last few major stages for carmakers to showcase their new products to a global audience. This year saw big debuts from international players, along with a surprising number of electric or hybrid cars/concepts from a variety of brands. Here is a look at some of the debutants.

Land Rover Defender

The iconic Defender has returned as a more mainstream model to the Land Rover line-up. Styling, while modern, does carry over many retro touches, from the boxy upright profile to the squared-out wheel arches. The cabin too is modern but gets design touches and tech to still show the model’s off-road heritage. Under the hood is a range of four- and six-cylinder petrol and diesel engine options, paired to a sophisticated four-wheel-drive system as standard. A big departure from the previous Defender is the move to a monocoque construction, over from a body-on-frame structure. The Defender is underpinned by a reworked version of the firm’s D7 platform that also underpins models such as the Range Rover and Discovery.

Volkswagen ID.3

Underpinned by VW’s MEB platform, the ID.3 is the brand’s most important model after the Beetle and the Golf – both broadly considered to be landmark cars for VW. The ID.3 features a sleek, modern design with a minimalist and spacious cabin, owning to its large wheelbase. The ID.3 gets three battery options, 45kWh, 58kWh and 77kW, offering claimed ranges of 330km, 418km and 548km, respectively. Power is sent to the rear wheels via an electric motor developing 145hp with the 45kWh battery, and 198hp with the other two.

Lamborghini Sian FKP 37

The wild-looking Sian is Lamborghini’s first hybrid supercar. Power comes from a naturally aspirated 6.5-litre V12 from the Aventador SVJ, but with power now up to 785hp, paired with a 35hp electric motor. Total output is rated at 820hp with the electric motor integrated into the gearbox. Power for the electric motor is stored in supercapacitors. The FKP 37 in the name stands as a tribute to Ferdinand Piech, who brought the company under VW in 1998. Only 63 units of the hybrid supercar will be made, and all have already been sold out.

Mercedes Vision EQS concept

The sleek-looking EQS previews an all-electric derivative of the next-gen S-class. Underpinned by the company’s MEA platform, the EQS features flowing lines and a silhouette similar to the new CLS, with the cabin inspired from that of a yacht. Power comes from two axle-mounted electric motors developing a combined 477hp and 759Nm of torque. Power is stored in an underfloor 100kW battery.

BMW Concept 4 Series

The Concept 4 Series previews the second-generation 4 Series. The concept features many cues from the larger 8 Series Coupe, along with a new interpretation of the brand’s kidney grille – the largest ones yet to adorn a BMW concept. The concept is said to be 85 percent production-ready, though there are no details available of the interior or mechanicals.

Honda e

Previewed as a near-production concept earlier in the year, the production e has little to differentiate it from the concept, with design and cabin more or less carried forward unchanged. Highlights for the car include its virtual wing mirrors and five displays lining the top of the dashboard. The e will get two output options – 136hp and 154hp – and a range of up to 220km.

Porsche Taycan

Porsche’s first all-electric performance car will go on sale internationally (and in India) next year, and with a choice of output levels – 625hp/850Nm and a more potent 760hp/1,050Nm. Inside, the cabin gets a number of high-tech touches such as a full-digital instrument cluster (a Porsche first), an optional dedicated screen for the front passenger, and a screen lower on the centre console to control the infotainment system. The Taycan is available in two variants – Turbo and Turbo S.

Audi RS6, RS7

Audi’s stand at Frankfurt included the latest models to join its RS line-up – the RS6 and the RS7. Running the same 600hp, 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8, paired with a 48V mild-hybrid system, the RS siblings featured more aggressive styling elements, like sportier bumpers, honeycomb grilles, along with massive air-dams, alloy wheels and dual exhausts. As before, the RS6 will be available as an estate only. Both models come with Quattro all-wheel drive as standard.

Automobili Pininfarina's upcoming electric hypercar, Battista, will be based on a high-performance EV platform that it will jointly develop with Bosch and Austrian automotive supplier Benteler.

This platform will also underpin future models from the Italian design house turned carmaker's range, which are expected to include three SUVs set to arrive within five years.

Under the joint collaboration, Pininfarina will leverage engineering service provider Bosch's expertise in sub-systems like braking, steering, vehicle controller and driver assistance. Meanwhile, Benteler will bring on board its proven electro-mobility solutions and consequently, also aid Pininfarina in reducing development time.

In fact, earlier this year, Benteler showcased its new Electric Drive System 2.0 at the Shanghai Auto Show. Benteler says the EV platform is now ready for immediate implementation for its customers because it now includes tested and validated crash management and tuned axle systems for high driving comfort and handling.

Interestingly, the high-performance EV platform will also be offered to other car brands, in the same way that VW has offered its MEB platform for all-electric cars to other manufacturers. The move will help in lowering production costs by offering more scale.

"This collaboration marks the first initiative among three world-class partners to develop a platform specifically tailored to the luxury and performance electric vehicle plans of Automobili Pininfarina and potentially other carmakers looking to make progress in this sector," Michael Perschke, CEO, Automobili Pininfarina, stated.

Christian Jung, Chief Technical Officer, Automobili Pininfarina, added: “The beauty of electrification is that the combination of batteries, motors and chassis provides a relatively modular concept around which to develop a range of cars."

The Battista electric hypercar is set to go into production in late 2020 in Italy. Pininfarina claims that Battista is the most powerful road-legal car ever produced in Italy, with a motor for each wheel that, collectively, deliver up to 1,900hp and 2,300Nm. Pininfarina claims a 0-100kph time of under 2.0sec, 0-300kph in less than 12sec and a top speed of around 350kph.

Ferrari has taken the wraps off what it claims is the world’s most powerful production drop-top – the 812 GTS. The reveal marks 5 decades since Ferrari last made a V12 convertible in the form of the 365 GTS4. The arrival of a convertible sibling to the 812 Superfast is a relative surprise, given the hardcore nature of the car and that its F12 predecessor did not offer a production-series drop-top.

The GTS has the same specification as the Superfast – both are powered by a naturally aspirated 6.5-litre V12 delivering 800hp at 8,500rpm and 718Nm of torque at 7,000rpm, with a top speed of 340kph.

Ferrari says performance levels are “very close” to those of the F12 Berlinetta, claiming a 0-100kph time of less than three seconds, compared with the Superfast’s 2.9sec. The Italian supercar maker describes the 812 GTS as not only “the most powerful production spider on the market, but also the most versatile, thanks to its retractable hard top”.

The folding metal roof opens in 14 seconds at speeds of up to 45kph and does not affect interior dimensions, claims Ferrari. The electric rear screen – the wind-stop – can be also be left open with the top up, so occupants can enjoy the V12’s sound even more. The rear of the car has been redesigned, resulting in the rear wheel arch losing its aerodynamic duct. That disadvantage has been compensated for by the addition of a flap on the rear diffuser.

Other tweaks to ensure the same performance as the coupé include using the air vents on top of the rear flank to channel excess air pressure out of the wheel well.

Ferrari says it has also focused on top-down refinement so that occupants can talk even at high speeds. As with the LaFerrari Aperta, two small L-shaped flaps on the upper corners of the windscreen create a vortex above the rear screen, avoiding excess pressure behind occupants’ heads.

The Aston Martin DBS Volante rival will go on sale later this year and is set to cost considerably more than the 812 Superfast.

The first V12 spider, the 166 MM, was a competition GT launched in 1948 that won the Mille Miglia and 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1949. The last in the lineage – until now – was the 365 GTS4.

While the front-mounted V12 architecture has not been used in a Ferrari series-production spider since the 365 GTS4, four limited-edition specials have been launched: the 550 Barchetta Pininfarina in 2000, the Superamerica in 2005, the SA Aperta in 2010 and, most recently, the F60 America.

Described as “less extreme than the 488 Pista Spider but sportier than the 488 Spider” it replaces, the F8 Spider gets the same 720hp version of Ferrari’s 3.9-litre, twin-turbo V8 as the F8 Tributo. This brings power output to the same figure as that of the limited-run 488 Pista and the car’s biggest rival, the McLaren 720S Spider. Its torque output is rated at 770Nm.

Along with the power advantage over its predecessor, the F8 Spider is also 20kg lighter than the 488 Spider, weighing in at 1,400kg.

Ferrari says that the F8 Spider has a 0-100kph time of 2.9sec (0.1sec faster than the 488 Spider), 0-200kph time of 8.2sec and a top speed of 340kph.

To help achieve the power upgrade over the 488 Spider, the new intake line is derived from the 488 Challenger track car. Ferrari has moved the air intakes from its flanks to the rear on either side of the blown spoiler. The Italian carmaker says that this ensures greater air flow to the engine.

The F8 Spider retains the retractable hard-top synonymous with Ferrari Spider models. As compared to the F8 Tributo, the design shifts the line between the body and roof from its conventional position at the beltline, to above the B-pillar.

The convertible roof is more compact than the 488 Spider. It takes 14sec to deploy at speeds up to 45kph and is stowed on top of the engine.

Ferrari also says that the F8 Spider’s performance is now accessible to more drivers “thanks to vehicle dynamics systems that make driving on the limit easier.”

As with its predecessor, expect the F8 Spider to be priced at a premium over its coupé sibling.

Bugatti’s decision to introduce the Chiron with a 420kph speed limiter left everyone wondering what it was truly capable of. Now the company has revealed the spectacular answer, with a slightly modified car smashing both the production car speed record and the 482.80kph (300mph) barrier.

The near-production Chiron included an additional safety cell, aerodynamic changes and a taller 7th gear, as well as a 1,600hp version of Bugatti’s 8.0-litre W16 quad-turbocharged engine taken from up from the 1,500hp of the ‘standard’ car. According to our sister publication Autocar UK, the mechanical changes will be incorporated into a celebratory limited-edition model.

Exceeding this top speed also relied on specially constructed Michelin Pilot Cup 2 tyres designed to handle the enormous forces of such speeds – at the record velocity, each was turning 4,100 times a minute. Each tyre was X-rayed before it was selected to ensure that none of the radial bands were touching each other; while this doesn’t matter at even the Chiron’s normal governed speed, it could have created heat.

Wallace also admitted that the enormous gyroscopic effect of wheels rotating so quickly became a challenge at ultra-high speeds. “At 322kph (200mph), you can barely feel it, but at 483kph (300mph), it’s absolutely enormous,” he told Autocar UK after the run, “It’s felt mostly on the front wheels and therefore the steering, like a spinning top when it starts to move it wants to continue to move.”

Dallara had designed the aerodynamic kit for the record-run – the Italian motorsport specialist builds the Chiron’s body – but there was no way to test simulation projections before the car was on track as speeds were too high for a wind tunnel. The aim was for neutral downforce, but that still meant huge forces running through the car’s structure. “Net-zero downforce front and rear sounds easy, as you’ve got the static weight of the car pushing down and that’s more than heavy enough.

"But it doesn’t mean the air is having no effect, there’s close to 2,000kg on the top surface of the body trying to pick the car off the ground and another 2,000kg under the car trying to pull it back down – two fighting forces that come to four tonnes roughly… So you’ve got to be absolutely sure that everything on the car is secure enough to go this fast.”

Wallace also discovered that at higher speeds, a recently resurfaced part of the 8.8km-long straight at Ehra-Lessian was unsettling the car. “You’d barely notice in a normal car, but at those speeds, it felt huge,” he said. The transition soon being known by the engineering team as ‘the jump.’

After four days at Ehra-Lessien, the Chiron had managed a peak speed of 482.5kph (299.8mph), tantalizingly close to the 483kph (300mph) barrier – but Wallace was struggling to go quicker. Then, on the record-setting lap, he felt confident enough over ‘the jump’ to push harder: “After it landed and had a bit of a weave about, I thought it was the best it’s been, the cross wind was a little bit less and I just kept it pinned.”

Wallace saw a peak of 490kph on the car’s GPS display, so knew he had set a record, but the live telemetry had been unable to keep up and had showed a maximum of 479kph. For several minutes, as the car returned to the pit area, the crew were unaware that the Chiron had broken the barrier. “They couldn’t work out why I was so happy on the radio,” Wallace admits. The Chiron’s onboard data recorder then confirmed the record time.

But Bugatti intends to leave it there, with president Stefan Winkelmann saying that the company’s quest for ultimate speed is satisfied. “We have shown several times that we built the fastest cars in the world. In future, we will focus on other areas."

“Bugatti was the first to exceed 300mph – its name will go down in the history books and will stay that way forever.”

For Wallace, this is the third time he has driven a car to the production car record, having previously done so with both the McLaren F1 and Jaguar XJ220. “It’s pretty bloody cool,” he told Autocar UK. “If somebody said to me even two years ago that I was going to go over 300mph, I’d have thought they were out of their mind.”

Lamborghini has debuted its most powerful and fastest-accelerating car at the Frankfurt motor show, and it’s also the firm’s first hybrid. The limited-run Sian previews Lamborghini’s plans to take its brand of V12-powered flamboyance into the near future with models such as the next-generation Aventador.

The Sian features the Aventador SVJ’s naturally aspirated 6.5-litre 12-cylinder unit, but it has been uprated from 770 to 785hp with the addition of titanium intake valves, and is mated to a 48V electric motor producing 35hp, for a combined total output of 820hp. In what Lamborghini claims is a first for low-voltage hybrid powertrains, the electric motor is integrated into the gearbox and connected to the wheels for low-speed reversing and parking manoeuvres. The charismatic sound of the V12, Lamborghini assures, has been preserved.

The developments mean the Sian will offer enhanced acceleration over Lamborghini's conventionally fuelled models, sprinting from 0-100kph in under 2.8sec, with top speed claimed to be in excess of the SVJ’s 349kph.

Power is not stored in a conventional lithium-ion battery, but rather generated by a supercapacitor unit that’s three times as powerful as a cell of the same weight, and three times lighter than a battery with the same output. The device, mounted ahead of the engine for enhanced weight distribution, is an evolution of that found in the Aventador to power the starter motor, and can store 10 times as much power as the original.

A regenerative braking system, developed in-house, sends power to the supercapacitor unit under deceleration. Energy generated in this way is available as a power boost at the discretion of the driver at speeds of up to 130kph.

The electric motor also allows for a smoother acceleration curve, activating during gear changes to counter the effect of deceleration and resulting in a 70-120kph time that’s 1.2sec quicker than that of the SVJ. Traction at lower speeds is improved as well, making the Sian 10 percent faster than a car without this system, according to its maker.

The Sian’s wedge-shaped silhouette is characteristically angular and wide, and is said to be influenced by the work of Bertone’s Marcello Gandini, who was responsible for some of Lamborghini’s best known historic models.

The diagonal lines along the length of the bonnet, six hexagonal tail-lights and roof-mounted ‘periscope’ tunnel are a nod to the Countach, while the low front splitter and Y-shape headlights are a setup originally intended for the electric Terzo Millenio concept.

Downforce is maximised by the model’s prominent side air intakes and large carbon-fibre front splitter. In keeping with the Sian’s “pure and uncluttered” design ethos, the rear wing sits flush with the rear deck, extending only at speed, while active cooling vanes along the engine lid react to exhaust temperatures and rotate as needed.

Lamborghini will make just 63 Sians (all have been sold already), offering buyers a high level of personalisation through its bespoke Ad Personam division.

While there is no dearth of new cars to drive throughout the year, the one outing we at Autocar India look forward to the most is our annual Track Day event. This year’s Track Day – powered by Michelin India and Savsol Lubricants – was held on August 20-21 and saw a total of eight cars and seven bikes participate. Of those, three entries set a new lap record at the Madras Motor Race Track, which has been home to the Track Day for a long time now and has witnessed India’s F1 star Narain Karthikeyan hammer out dozens of hot laps in a number of sportscars and supercars.

In the hands of Karthikeyan, the 991.2-gen Porsche 911 GT3 RS lapped the MMRT in a blistering 1m47.01sec, a full 1.3 seconds quicker than the previous record holder, the Mercedes-AMG GT R, to become the fastest production car to lap the 3.71-kilometre circuit. What made the Lizard Green GT3 RS’ record-breaking run even more remarkable was the fact that it was running road-biased Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 N2 tyres, and not the track-oriented Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tyres, with which it could have gone quicker still.

Speaking after setting a new lap record for production cars at the MMRT, Karthikeyan said, “I knew the GT3 RS would be much faster than any other production car around this track. Performance-wise, it’s significantly faster than the previous-gen GT3 RS I’ve driven on this track before. This one is phenomenal on the track and is just awesome to drive.”

But the Porsche wasn’t alone in setting a record. Joining it on the MMRT wall of record-holders is the Hyundai Kona Electric, which, with a time of 2m14.12sec, has become the quickest electric vehicle to lap the MMRT. While its lap time won’t put it anywhere near the top of the leaderboard, it must be noted that this lap time almost mirrors the time set by Mahindra’s rally-spec Super XUV all the way back in 2013, and that is quite a remarkable achievement for an electric SUV.

As for the bikes, not only did the Ducati Panigale V4 grab the maximum eyeballs, but also completed a lap of the MMRT in a searing 1m49.001sec. Ridden by superbike racer Rajini Krishnan, the Panigale V4 obliterated the Aprilia RSV4 RF’s record time of 1m50.35sec to secure the crown of the fastest production motorcycle to lap the MMRT.

As Track Day 2019 drew to a close, Hormazd Sorabjee, Editor, Autocar India, said “The Track Day is a regular fixture on the Autocar India calendar, and this year’s line-up presented an interesting mix of cars and bikes. What also makes the Track Day special is the circuit – unlike the Buddh International Circuit, where outright power and top speed are major factors, the Madras Motor Race Track presents a technically challenging layout and brings every car’s dynamic abilities to the fore. This year, we broke two existing lap records and set a brand-new one for an EV, which is a remarkable feat and I’d like to congratulate Narain and Rajini on their record-breaking performances.”

The full lap times of all eight cars and seven motorcycles will be published in the full Track Day report in our mega 20th Anniversary issue. Stay tuned!

]]>Amaan Ahmed Amaan Ahmed Three new lap records set at Autocar Track Day 20192461402461401Amaan Ahmed Three new lap records set at Autocar Track Day 20192461402461401Amaan Ahmed Three new lap records set at Autocar Track Day 20192461402461401Fri, 23 Aug 2019 15:00:00 +1000413880Amaan Ahmed Autocar India staff photograherMon, 1 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +1000Narain Karthikeyan breaks the production car lap record at the MMRT in a Porsche 911 GT3 RS while Ducati&#8217;s Panigale V4 &#8211; ridden by superbike racer Rajini Krishnan &#8211; is the new fastest production motorcycle to lap the circuit.Narain Karthikeyan breaks the production car lap record at the MMRT in a Porsche 911 GT3 RS while Ducati&#8217;s Panigale V4 &#8211; ridden by superbike racer Rajini Krishnan &#8211; is the new fastest production motorcycle to lap the circuit.Fri, 23 Aug 2019 15:00:00 +1000https://www.autocarindia.com/car-news/three-new-lap-records-set-at-autocar-track-day-2019-413880#utm_source=feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=Autocar+India+Super+cars+feed413880